School association seeks background-check reforms

THE ISSUE: Background checks for school employees don't include reports of abuse or neglect of disabled adults.

THE IMPACT: While there are no known incidents involving school employees with records of abusing disabled adults, pending legislation would include such records in the background-check process.

Gerry Tuoti Wicked Local Newsbank Editor

While background checks are standard procedure for anyone working in a school, some say a gap in the system could put children at risk.

Under the current system, the Department of Children and Families provides information about whether a prospective school employee has ever been the subject of substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect. Reports of abuse or neglect of adults with disabilities, however, are not provided.

“We felt that was a substantial concern,” said Jim Major, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Chapter 766 Approved Private Schools, the statewide organization that represents state-authorized schools that provide specialized programs to students with severe disabilities. “Our staff could do a background check and not know if a person was involved in a substantiated report of abuse or neglect of disabled adult.”

The background check gap, he said, affects all schools, including public schools, statewide. There are no known incidents of students being harmed by a school employee with a record of abusing a disabled adult.

The Massachusetts Association of Chapter 766 Approved Private Schools began advocating for reforming the background check process after administrators at a member school discovered a different set of information was provided during a background check for a prospective employee at a program it runs for adults.

State. Sen. Walter Timilty, D-Milton, is the lead sponsor of a bill to update the background-check process for school employees. The legislation, which has 50 co-sponsors, would create an interagency agreement requiring the Disabled Persons Protection Commission to provide reports of abuse of disabled adults for background checks of prospective school employees. The Department of Early Education and Care, the Department of Secondary Education and the Department of Children and Families would be part of the agreement.

“The safety of our children must be a top priority,” Timilty said. “I filed this legislation to ensure that our students and schools remain safe and secure by providing hiring managers with the full breadth of information required to make an informed decision regarding new employees.”